


There's No One Who Can Doubt It Now

by nubianamy



Series: (What It Looks Like and) What It Is [2]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode: s01e04 Five Votes Down, Established Relationship, Grumpy Old Men, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27716690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nubianamy/pseuds/nubianamy
Summary: Jed is the third person Leo talks to after his wife leaves him.
Relationships: Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Jed Bartlet/Leo McGarry
Series: (What It Looks Like and) What It Is [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2021147
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	There's No One Who Can Doubt It Now

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this exchange in 1x04 Five Votes Down:
> 
> TOBY  
> Where's the President?
> 
> LEO  
> His back is pretty bad today. He canceled the morning. He'll stay in bed and make some calls.

Leo paused outside the door and raised an eyebrow at the Secret Service agent on duty. “Is he still awake?”

“Last I checked, sir,” said the agent.

Leo thought his name was Max, but he decided he’d better not guess. He made the little courtesy knock on Jed’s door, but didn’t bother to wait for him to reply before opening it. “Mr. President?”

He could see Jed’s feet, clad in the slippers he’d bought him for Christmas two years ago, stretched out on the bed.

“What’d you think of Toby’s stamp joke?” Jed said, not taking his eyes from the papers in his hand.

“The whole speech was good.” Leo stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “That Truman quote always goes over well with audiences who don’t consider themselves to be sons-of-bitches, but still plan to make their voice heard. And don’t ask me to comment on your D section edits. There’s a reason you have a speechwriter.”

“I’m a damn fine speechwriter, I’ll have you know.” Jed set the paper on his lap and gazed across the room, like anyone was listening to him. “Truman, he was the actual plain-spoken president. When he left office in 1952, he barely had enough money to live on, and he was still buying, and licking, his own stamps. At that time the U.S. government provided no pension to former presidents.” He nodded toward Leo. “Thanks to the 1958 Congress, the Former Presidents Act will provide me with a travel pension and money to buy stamps after I retire. Assuming the U.S. Postal Service is still around by then.”

“Assuming that, yes.” Leo sat on the edge of the bed. Just that amount of weight was enough to make Jed wince. “Mr. President—“

“We’re not in the White House now, Leo,” he said quietly.

“You’re working. You’re still the President.”

“It’s eleven-thirty-eight at night, and I’m always the President.”

That sounded more like a complaint than Leo was used to hearing. He frowned. “Abbey said your new doctor gave you pills for your back. Did you take them?”

“I don’t know where I put them.”

“Abbey said she told Charlie to give them to you after your speech. I’ll bet you a thousand dollars they’re still in your jacket pocket. You want me to bring them to you?”

Jed scowled. “I don’t like them. They—“

“Yes, I know, they make you goofy.” He stood and headed for the closet, raising his voice as he went to be heard over Jed’s grumbling. “Please, bear with my idiosyncratic need to encourage you to take the medication prescribed to you by your doctor. And which, I might add, your wife, who is also a doctor, expressly said you need.”

He returned to Jed peering at him over his glasses. “Do you plan to trot a third doctor in here, just to round out the opinions for the evening?”

“Not unless you feel a need for more company.” This time he dragged a chair over to sit beside the bed. He set the two pill bottles on the side table.

“Not particularly, no.” Jed gazed down at the pills, then turned back to Leo. “Why do you let me go on and on about things you already know? I believe you did a lecture last year on the Truman administration’s impact on fair labor practices.”

“Yes, and they paid me forty thousand dollars to give it. And I didn’t have a speechwriter.” Leo reached out and took Jed’s hand. “You know why I let you.”

Jed gripped it tightly. “Well, you should stop me.”

“If I stopped you every time you said something stupid, Mr. President, you’d never get a word in edgewise.”

“Ain’t that the truth.” Jed tugged on his hand, but Leo stayed where he was. “If it’s not to listen to me wax eloquent about former presidents, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”

“Well.” Leo pressed his lips together. “I… think I might have really done it this time.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good.” His tone was light, but Leo could see the expression in Jed’s eyes. He didn’t miss much, no matter how much pain he was in, and he’d seen Leo drunk enough times to know what state he was in.

“Apparently forgetting our anniversary was the last straw. I think nobody would fault Jenny for that.” He nodded to himself. “So she left.”

Jed sighed. “Leo…”

“And then I went to see Hoynes about 802.” He avoided Jed’s eyes. With any luck, he’d make it through the conversation without crying. “That was interesting.”

“What makes me think you left out the part about having a drink first?” His voice was far kinder than it needed to be.

“I didn’t have a drink.”

“Really.”

“I had eight drinks.” He let Jed squeeze his hand. “He took one look at me and invited me to his secret AA meeting. I had no idea. Did you know about it?”

“No, but I’m the President, so Hoynes will have to deal with you divulging secrets to me.” The concern was obvious on his face now. “Are you going to go?”

“I thought I might. Not that I understand his motivation for inviting me.”

“I think there’s two possible answers to that. One, he’s telling you he can’t trust you not to drink, and therefore you can’t be trusted to run the country. Or two, he’s establishing power over you by letting you know he knows you fell off the wagon.” Jed gave him a pointed look. “Or he could be offering it because he’s a good guy.”

Neither Leo nor Jed were able to keep a straight face through that sentence. “Yeah, that’s got to be the answer.”

Jed let the laughter subside before offering a compassionate smile. “I’m sorry to hear about Jenny.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Leo swallowed, trying hold on to his smile, but he could feel it transforming into a grimace. “I asked her to call me before bed. She said she would, but—I don’t think I can deal with it if she doesn’t.”

Jed nodded slowly. “Would it be better if you stayed here?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Well.” He leaned back carefully against the ornate bed frame and sighed, considering the ceiling. “Nobody would be surprised by you keeping late hours to brief me on Tillinghouse or Wick. I’m guessing those are the ones we still need.”

“Jed, I’m not here to discuss 802.”

“I could regale you with more facts about Truman, if you prefer.” He either ignored or did not notice Leo’s snort. “Truman would have hated you for being rich, you know. He was very firm in his opinion that the office of the president wasn’t for sale.”

He let go of Jed’s hand. “Are you implying I’m trying to… what? Bribe you with favors?”

“Do I see any bribes? I do not.” Jed sounded offended. “And why not, rich boy? You’re going to have to try harder than that if you expect me to invite you to stay the night in the residence.”

“You already invited me.”

“So I did.” His eyes flashed. “Maybe I should have waited until you capitulated and called me Jed before I did that. You can hold that against me the next time I forget our anniversary.”

Leo let out an unhappy laugh. “Abbey would never let you.”

“Also true.” His voice softened. “Leo, you know it’s your call. I’m not going to talk you into doing anything that makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“The hell you’re not.” Leo couldn’t bring himself to put any vitriol into the words. Of course his first action upon being left by his wife was to bring his shame directly to Jed, and of course Jed had handed him his power right back. He smiled helplessly at Jed, unable to speak, but Jed simply nodded, as though he’d said the words in his head out loud.

“Use the desk if you want,” Jed said, gesturing across the room. “I can keep myself occupied if you have work to do.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think I can concentrate.” Leo shifted in his chair. “But Abbey made me promise I’d get you to take your pills before you fall asleep.”

“Well, in that case…” Jed stacked the papers and set them to the side, then beckoned Leo closer. “How about you give me a reason to need them?”

* * *

_Happy days are here again,_   
_The skies above are clear again_   
_Let us sing a song of cheer again_   
_Happy days are here again,_

_All together shout it now_   
_There's no one who can doubt it now_   
_So let's tell the world about it now_   
_Happy days are here again_

_-[Barbra Streisand, “Happy Days Are Here Again](https://youtu.be/QLik_SdEm6Q)” _


End file.
